We are terribly sorry to report that people whose names begin with the letter D will live a shorter and more depressed life than their counterparts with A as the first letter, this according to Wayne State University.

Psychologists at the Detroit-based university have determined that your first initial has a major affect on your longevity, with people whose names begin with A significantly outliving those beginning with D.

And, they claim, it could all be down to a subconscious link to school grades, where A represents high achievement and D near failure.

Unlikely as it may seem, the researchers suggest this means people with D names are more likely to develop lifelong low self-esteem, which, in turn, may lower their defenses against disease.

The researchers looked at the lives of 10,000 professional athletes, lawyers, and doctors born between 1875 and1930 (so, basically, they looked at a majority of white men) and came to the conclusion that people whose names began with the letter D died on average at the age of 69 in comparison to 73-years-old for the letter A and 71 for the letters E-Z.

The most pronounced difference was for basketball players. On average, those with an A name outlived those with D names by 9.5 years.

The latest study follows other research which found that names can influence major life decisions. For example, people with the name Lawrence are more likely to be lawyers while Dennises are over-represented among dentists.

According The Daily Mail, Dr David Holmes, psychologist at Manchester Metropolitan University, said: ‘When caring for our children, we give much thought to keeping germs at bay but none whatsoever to the health impact of a name.

‘This study – which has relevance for my own lifespan – suggests names have much more of an impact than we’ve ever given them credit for.

‘We consider the alphabet as a kind of hierarchy, which we use to compile lists and orders.

‘As a result, we see people with certain names differently, which in turn can affect how we treat them. This may affect various factors like longevity, health and how they move through life.’

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